To Pass or Fail
by Alexis Wolfe
Summary: Two years after the end of the 4th Great War, preparations for the Chunin exams begin amidst straining relations between the Elemental Nations. As Konoha's only viable Genin; Naruto, Sasuke, and Konohamaru must form a team and set forth to prove their merit while trying to uncover the terrifying truth that threatens to destroy everything they hold dear. Rated M for Sex and Violence
1. New Beginnings

**Welcome to my newest story To Pass or Fail. As a whole, this is experimental writing and is a far cry from my normal drama series Broken Mirrors. That being said, I hope to employ the same air of mystery and drama to achieve a strong sentiment of adventure and friendship. **

**Without further ado, I present To Pass or Fail for your reading pleasure.**

—**Wolfe**

* * *

**New Beginnings**

The moon shined brightly across the land, bathing Konoha in an eerie silvery white light. As it crept along the village's empty streets, it flowed into uncovered windows and open doors, illuminating once dark expanses within. Once and again it found hidden faces covered by all but the corner of a curtain, staring in awe at the magnificence of the transformed landscape. As the silver river continued its path, it came across one such face staring resolutely through an open window, his hands on the frame with his face upturned slightly as if to absorb the moon into himself.

Naruto had been standing in this pose for almost an hour, an extreme sense of calm washing over him as he breathed in the cool night air. With a sense of longing, the blonde stepped back from his window, the darkness of his room swallowing him as he turned and padded towards his bed. Any person in their right mind would have been dead asleep, the problems of their little world delayed until the coming morning. A few hours prior, Naruto had been the same, sprawling across his bed with a large puddle of drool dripping from his mouth and dreams of ramen. But something in the back of his mind nagged him into consciousness and refused to let him sleep.

Rubbing the back of his neck, Naruto heaved a huge sigh before stretching and walking towards his kitchen. If anything in the world could calm him, a steaming bowl of instant ramen was it. The kitchen was dark as the blonde entered, unlike his bedroom, the blinds were drawn against the silvery light of the moon. From years of habit he slid his palm against the wall until his hand lit upon the tiny switch to the room. With a tired gesture he flicked his fingertips upwards and scrunched his eyes shut as the room suddenly exploded into light. Groaning, he staggered towards the cabinet and opened it.

Stacked inside were rows upon rows of instant ramen. On the right were three full rows of chicken ramen, followed by two rows of pork and an empty row, three rows of beef with only a few packages missing and on the far left was a full five stacks of combination style. Chewing his lip he reached up and pulled a pack of beef ramen from its stack and shut the door. Padding over to the table, he placed the pack down and moved back towards the stove, grabbing his kettle and shaking it. The heavy sloshing inside told him it was full, so with a content smile he turned the fire on and walked back to the table.

:_You know eating that stuff all the time is not good for you, right?: _

Naruto sighed as Kurama's gruff voice boomed inside of his head. Ever since the Fifth and Sixth Hokage had sealed the Kyuubi's second half in him, their bond had grown stronger and stronger, surpassing even the bond between Octopops and Gyuki. The only problem was that Naruto was also feeling side-effects of the strong pairing.

Over the last few months he'd been experiencing flashbacks from Kurama's past and at one point almost leveled his apartment with their shared power during an especially vivid memory. Not only that but he'd been receiving visions about things neither he nor the Nine-Tails could place.

:_Oi! Are you even listening to me?: _Kurama growled. His thundering voice echoing once again through Naruto's skull. :_I feel like you should talk to the Sixth about these dreams.:_

The blonde widened his eyes at the sentiment. Kurama had said very little about about the dreams, often trying his best to avoid the subject in general. "Why are you saying this all of a sudden?" Naruto jumped up and walked towards the stove to check on his water.

Kurama was silent for a moment before speaking. :_I feel like these _dreams_ aren't really dreams.: _He stopped again as if trying to piece together his thoughts. _:Something tells me that this is foresight into the future. A gift if you will, from the Old Man."_

Naruto carried the steaming pot of water back to the table and plopped into his chair. "I don't know if I'd call it the future. I mean . . ." He stopped speaking for a second as he pulled the top off of his ramen and poured the boiling water inside. "Wouldn't I have had the visions right after I got the power from him? Not two years afterwords?" The blonde propped his elbows on the table and rested his face in his hands, staring dejectedly at the steaming cup.

:_Think boy! These visions started after they sealed my other half.: _Kurama grumbled. :_I think to harness the power, you needed to have both halves of me.:_

"I don't know, I mean don't you think it's a little far-fetched? Me getting magical mind powers that tell the future?" Naruto groused back, as he pulled a pair of chopsticks apart. "I think it's just weird dreams and stuff." The blonde pulled his cup towards him before plunging his chopsticks into the aromatic contents within and pulling forth a long stand of noodles.

The fox snorted in disgust at Naruto's meal before continuing. :_That's what I thought. But I was awake tonight when you started dreaming. You were drawing a substantial amount of chakra from me.:_

Chopsticks halfway to his mouth, the blonde froze. "I was drawing chakra from you in my sleep?" He put the bite down and looked up.

_Just like the night I almost destroyed the apartment, I started drawing chakra from him without even being awake. If I keep this up I'm going to hurt someone and not even realize it. _

Naruto back down and pulled his soup closer to him. "I'll talk to Kakashi tomorrow." Without another word he leaned over and started inhaling his food, his thoughts far from the steaming noodles in front of him.

* * *

In the two and a half years following the Fourth Great Shinobi War, Konoha had rebuilt into a glory surpassing even the village under Hashirama, the First Hokage. Workers from all of the elemental nations flocked towards Konoha to lend their expertise, turning the crater surrounding the village into a defensible valley with high reaching walls and strong fortifications. The elevated main gate meant anyone entering the village was clearly visible for the twenty minute walk into the center of town. The village streets themselves were set in concentric circles with the Hokages tower at the center of the former epicenter of Pain's attack.

The result was an incredibly defensible village numerous little perks implemented by through the collaboration of architects from all over the world. It only took six months to complete the building, completely outstripping the three years it took to rebuild after Orochimaru's attack. The only things left solely to Leaf architects was the reconstruction of villager safe-houses, training grounds, ANBU facilities, and security systems; things that even peaceful nations don't share with one another.

Sitting in the exact center of the village high in his tower, the Sixth Hokage relaxed silently in his office with an orange book in his hands, propping his feet unceremoniously on the oaken desk in front of him. The room was completely silent save for the occasional sound of a page turning and the slight creak of his chair as he shifted ever so slightly. Ever since assuming the prestigious mantle of fire-shadow from the formidable Tsunade, Kakashi had mostly overseen the reconstruction of Konoha and the reassignment of teams whose members were killed during the conflict. The help of other nations greatly helped the former, and surprisingly not many roster changes were needed thanks to Naruto's determination and the combined healing abilities of Sakura and Tsunade.

Kakashi sighed and shut his book, his impromptu meeting with Naruto was soon and as Hokage he was actually required to keep some semblance of a schedule. Pulling his feet off of the table,the silver-haired man pushed his chair back and stood up, stretching muscles stiff from sitting too long. After squeezing his shoulders together and eliciting a nice series of pops down his spine, Kakashi quickly walked across the room and unlocked his door before turning back to his desk.

Only a few papers littered the top, a miracle that Tsunade never seemed to accomplish. Well . . . Kakashi smirked as he remembered how he'd actually gotten through the mountainous stack in the first place.

"_Come on Kakashi! We're still tied in our heated rivalry!" Gai had burst through the door over an hour earlier and had yet to leave, claiming Kakashi had to challenge him right at that moment. _

_Sighing, the silver-haired Hokage raised an eyebrow before looking at his friend. "I have work to do."_

_Turning swiftly, the man looked at the door with his fist held up, clenched into a fury-filled fist. "Oh you're so cool!" A sentiment meant for an unknown party, but heard by everyone in the Hokage's tower. Flipping back around Gai looked Kakashi in the eye. "You choose the challenge! I don't care what it is and if I lose I will do two thousand push-ups on my pinkies!"_

_Kakashi sighed, he had so much work to do and Gai just wouldn't— "Fine. There is a lot of paperwork that needs filed. Whoever can file the most papers out of this stack wins" He said gesturing towards the huge stack in front of him. Looking towards Gai for an answer, the Hokage was quite please to see the man pulling his sleeves up and cracking his fingers. _

"_I'm going to win this one Kakashi! I'm the magnificent paper sorting beast of Konoha!" With a sudden frenzy, the man ran towards the stack and started pulling pages down and dropping them into separate piles next to his feet. "You're going to lose if you just keep staring!"_

_Chuckling to himself, Kakashi gingerly picked up a piece of paper and sat it next to him. _

A sudden rapping at the door broke the Kage out of his reverie, grounding him back in reality just in time to hear an impatient voice on the other side of the door.

"Kakashi-sensei! I know you're in there!" Naruto was banging furiously on the door, apparently oblivious to the fact it was unlocked. "If you don't unlock this door I will knock it down and haul you away from your book and never let you see it again." The barrage on the door intensified as the young man became more and more enraged with his "lazy perverted teacher."

Scowling under his mask, the copy-ninja turned around and walked silently towards the entrance and grabbed the handles,. With a grandeur gesture he flung the doors open before staring Naruto down with his uncovered eye. The hall was filled with six clones standing in a semi-circle with the _real?_Naruto in the center, each with their fists balled to bang on the door.

Holding back a frustrated sigh Kakashi crossed his arms, standing back against the door to prop it open for his former student. "The door was unlocked the entire time Naruto."

The man stepped back into his room towards his desk, leaving a sheepish looking boy in the hallway. With quickly reddening face the blonde dispersed his clones, causing them to disappear into large puffs of white smoke before grinning broadly and following his village leader inside. Once across the threshold he turned and shut the door quickly, bowing his head slightly in a silent apology.

"I'm sorry Kakashi-Sensei, it's just . . ." He broke off into a worrying pause, causing Kakashi to lean forward in his chair and rest his elbows on the table. "Kurama thought I needed to talk to you about something."

The normally stoic copy-ninja clasp his hand slightly as he waited for Naruto to continue. The boy seemed on edge, his hair was more unkempt than usual, he had dark bags under his eyes, his normally proud posture was slumped at the shoulders as if he were carring the weight of the world on them and he _sounded _like he wasn't doing well. Looking closer, the Hokage noticed the boy's tense posture as if expecting something horrible to happen any second and the stilted way in which Naruto pulled up a chair and gingerly sat in it spoke volumes to the importance of the conversation.

Taking in a deep breath, Naruto looked his former teacher in the eye, his own pleading for a way to make his statement easier. After fidgeting in uncomfortable silence for a while, the blonde closed his eyes and shook his head.

_:Boy. Naruto, let me speak to him.: _Kurama posited, :_I feel like I could explain a little better._

Nodding slightly, Naruto looked up at Kakashi "Kurama is going to explain everything to you." His blue eyes unfocused for a second before clouding into milky-white nothingness. Then, without warning, his eyes closed and then opened revealing dark, slitted red eyes. His features had sharpened, his whiskers becoming more pronounced and his canines growing longer than humanly possible. The switch had taken place.

"Rokudaime, it has come to our attention that more than one ability has presented itself since the transfer of power from the Old Man." The fox started, his red eyes staring into Kakashi's uncovered eye.

The Hokage visibly shuddered as he remembered the night Naruto almost lost control in his apartment. Shortly after the sealing of Kyuubi's second half, one of the neighboring tenants called the landlord on a noise complaint as Kurama's power leaked uncontrollably, whipping around the tiny apartment in a mindless frenzy. When the landlord finally opened the door, and saw the huge commotion, he had Kakashi summoned immediately. Naruto had still been asleep in his room, but an enormous wall of chakra blocked the Rokudaime's entrance to the bedroom itself. After a large amount of yelling, the boy finally managed to wake up and pull his chakra under control, but by that point everything in his unit and the surrounding units had been destroyed.

"What type of ability is this?" Kakashi questioned cautiously, "Is this something that poses a threat to the village?"

The red-eyed figure closed his eyes in contemplation before speaking again, "No." Speaking through Naruto was taxing, so Kurama was keeping his answers short until an actual explanation was needed. Already the simple task of talking through his host was starting to cause a strain on his body. The body swap had been something both of them work on during training, but it was still short of perfection.

The Hokage heaved a small sigh of relief before continuing. "Okay, so it doesn't pose a threat, then what is it?"

Now was the time for the long explanation. Kurama felt the consciousness of Naruto blacking from the reversal in position and hurried with his description. "As far as I can tell, the dreams Naruto has experienced in the last few months have been a combination of my memories, and . . ." The fox trailed off as his mind blacked for a second and his vision blurred. "and we feel," he started again, regaining control, "visions of the future. Nothing incredibly concrete, but strong enough to warn us of an impending danger."

Kakashi could tell the strain was becoming more and more difficult on the boy's body and thought quickly, trying to get as much information before the two lost their grip. "Do you think that we can act reliably on the these dreams or are they too vague?"

Physically reeling, Kurama's breath caught as the room started spinning around him. After a few moments he was able to think clearly again, but he knew there wasn't much time before he and Naruto were forced to switch back. "Some of the dreams are just . . ." The fox lapsed again, the connection was starting to slip, "just vague images but one . . . one of them is undeniable. The . . . there is going to be another war."

Naruto's body slumped forward as Kurama's consciousness disappeared back into its proper place. Naruto always took longer to regain control, and after a few minutes the boy groaned and leaned back, his eyes returning to their natural blue color, his whiskers disappearing and his fangs shrinking. Rubbing the back of his neck he looked at the Hokage with a half-grin.

"We still gotta work on that." His voice sounded less strained than when Kurama was speaking and he was able to keep much better focus. "But yeah . . . the dream Kurama was talking about has been happening a lot recently." The blonde's face suddenly paled as all of the blood drained from it. "I really hope this isn't the future."

Stiffening at the dark tone in his former student's voice, Kakashi lowered his tone and leaned forward. "Naruto, what is this dream about."

Biting his lip, Naruto looked past Kakashi and out of the window, looking at the buildings of the city below. "It's never really clear to begin with, but from what Kurama and I can glean, Konoha is in danger." He paused as he gathered his thoughts "We're pretty sure it's not Madara or any of the weird stuff that happened during the war, but other than that all we know is it's going to happen soon."

The silver-haired man knew Naruto was leaving something out and shot him a pensive stare. The blonde closed his eyes and looked up at the ceiling before continuing, somewhat against his will as Kurama pushed him to speak.

"One of our allies is going to turn on us and . . . it's going to be a bloodbath. If we can't stop this hundreds, no . . . thousands will die. Not just Leaf, but _everyone_ caught in between." Naruto was frank in his answer, sighing deeply as he detached himself as much as he could from the pain of his memories of war and the sheer amount of death he'd witnessed. If he could avoid it, nothing like that would ever happen again.

Kakashi's brows furrowed. The answer was still vague, but even the Kyuubi seemed to be taking the dream seriously enough to tell the village leader. "I will see about strengthening our defenses and keeping an ear for anything out of the ordinary. But, until there something more definitive, I can only do so much."

Naruto nodded in agreement. While he was still young and a knucklehead at heart, he had matured greatly during the war and he was beginning to understand the subtle intricacies of diplomacy. With a slightly less heavy heart, the boy stood and stretched, before turning and walking towards the door. Just as he reached the exit he looked over his shoulder, and smiled. "I also had a dream that Sasuke would be returning soon."

* * *

The sun broke across the horizon in a brilliant explosion of fire with long beams of reds, yellows, oranges and the occasional pink streaming across the sky in somber resplendence. Every tree in the forest surrounding Konoha lit up in beautiful flames of color, their tops mirroring the pyre overhead as dawn broke across the Country of Fire. A cacophonous symphony of birds greeted the new morning with complex melodies that roused the sleeping citizens of Kohohagakure from their peaceful slumber and beckoned them into the cool embrace of the summer morning.

A small group traveled swiftly in the burgeoning morning, a tall figure shrouded in black followed closely by three shorter shadows forming an arrow. Directly behind the leader, a boy with unruly brown hair, dark eyes and a blue scarf scanned the area in front of him, his hands ready to relay commands at a moments notice to the people behind him. In the left corner another brunette with straighter hair and glasses scanned the left side of the group intently, preparing for any possible attack from his side. Finally in the right hand corner of the arrow, a bright redhead with almond shaped eyes scanned to the right, every nerve tensed.

Throwing his right hand out, the leader called the group to a stop and within a heartbeat the four of them were standing in a small clearing in the forest. Heaving a sigh, the bespectacled boy dropped to the ground, sides heaving as he gasped for air. The girl doubled over her knees, also breathing heavily after the travel. The leader in his black attire merely looked at the pitiful sight in front of him before turning to check on the scarfed boy to his side. Other than a slight flush in his cheeks, the boy seemed fine, almost eager to return to his travels.

"Moegi. Udon. You have been Genin for three years now, you two should be able to travel at this speed for most of the day before tiring to this point." Shaking his head the black clad leader turned towards the remaining boy. "Konohamaru your endurance has improved greatly since our last mission out of the country." Pushing his glasses up with his middle finger he continued, "Konoha is only a few more hours away, so we'll take a short break and press onwards. The Hokage is expecting us and the information we're carrying as soon as possible."

"Ebisu-Sensei, why does the Hokage need this scroll so bad?" Konohamaru pulled a sealed red scroll from his weapons pouch and looked at it curiously. Across the seam, a bright white seal in the shape of Suna's crest pulsed gently, affirming the document had not been opened. "I mean couldn't they have sent an emissary or even a hawk to deliver this?"

The older man smirked slightly as his student started piecing together the facts of the mission. Konohamaru definitely expressed more initiative than the other two in his group and was well on his way to becoming a great ninja. "I'm not sure _why_ Suna didn't wish to send this by hawk or by emissary." Ebisu baited the boy with just the right amount of information and watched as his mind started sifting through all of the details of the mission.

"A whole squad of ninja are requested to pick up a scroll and deliver it to their home country." He turned the scroll in his hands, examining the object as he thought. "Most things of high importance are given to a hawk or a single ANBU to deliver, but for some reason this one wasn't." Konohamaru scowled as the answer eluded him.

Ebisu watched intently, knowing full well the actual parameters of the mission. He had purposely withheld the information to see if his students could parse out the actual purpose of the mission. Knowing full well the Chunin exams were coming, he had to make sure his students were ready.

"Hawks are too noticeable because everyone sends high level intelligence with them." The boy mused. "Sending an ANBU poses two problems. Not only does it subtract a highly capable ninja from the roster, but anyone chancing upon a ANBU knows there is a high probability they have sensitive information." Konohamaru continued turning the scroll, still concentrating intently on the problem.

The teacher looked on his student and smiled before grimacing at the state of the other two. They were undoubtedly going to hold him back from the exams another year, maybe even two if nothing changed. Moegi had great potential when it came to chakra control, but her endurance and stamina were pitiful. Udon knew the fundamentals through and through, but his ability to mold chakra evenly and activate jutsu was worse than an academy student. Not only that, but Moegi and Udon simply lacked the initiative to train on their own.

"I got it!" Konohamaru suddenly shouted, rousing his still exhausted teammates from their repose. Turning towards them quickly he started speaking excitedly. "Don't you understand what has happened?" He almost yelled, wagging the scroll in their faces. "We're testing a new system! Genin teams aren't as noticeable as highly trained Jonin and Anbu so nobody wants to bother us on a mission!"

Moegi and Udon looked at the frantically speaking boy with blank faces, not understanding what he was trying to imply.

"Konohamaru, they wouldn't give us important information." Udon began matter of factly. "We are Genin assigned only D-rank missions that reenforce our team-work and allow us a chance to use our knowledge in a controlled environment under the supervision of our Jonin." The snot-nosed boy seemed proud of his display as he smirked triumphantly.

"Don't you see the ingenuity in it though!" The scarfed boy was actually shouting at this point. "We have a Jonin with us, but because he's with a group of Genin nobody would think he has important information. This entire trip was to test if that assumption was correct!"

Ebisu smiled, the boy had seen underneath the underneath. He was indeed ready to take the Chunin exam. Glancing at the two Genin gaping in awe at Konohamaru's deduction, he shook his head. There had to be a way to get the boy into the exam. Sighing deeply he called the group back to his side, deciding to take the issue up with the Hokage later.

"Okay kids. Konohamaru is right. This entire mission was to try a new system of conveying messages to allied nations. The smaller nations know we send information through hawk and individually acting ninja. By having a genin squad travel to and from nations, the Kage hope to keep as much information quiet as possible." Pushing his glasses up the man continued, albeit in a different vein. "We should hit the road again. The Hokage is expecting us today and we cannot put him behind schedule."

With unified agreement to his statement, the three Genin resumed their positions and set off through the trees with renewed speed. After the group had traveled a few lengths, a person in the shadows stirred setting off behind in a blur.

* * *

**Thank you for reading the first chapter of To Pass or Fail. I hope you enjoyed it!**

**Please check out my other story Broken Mirrors, and don't forget to favorite and review!**

**-Wolfe**


	2. Machinations

**Thank all of you for your overwhelming support for my new story To Pass or Fail. I really hope to have the first chapter of Death and Reunion soon and keep your eyes open for the release of my secret project Roots: The Birth of Team Seven. It will be the epitome of love, loss, friendship, action, revenge, and drama. **

**Without further ado, I present the second installment of To Pass or Fail.**

—**Wolfe**

* * *

**Machinations**

The sun had dipped low beyond the horizon, casting long shadows through the still bustling streets of Konoha. Throughout the village people milled in great crowds completely undeterred by the setting sun as they went about their business. Sultry smells carried promises of hot ramen, udon soup, roasted chicken, sweet dumplings and so many more mouthwatering dishes offered at the plethora of restaurants lining the main road through the Leaf. Couples walked arm in arm down the street occasionally stopping to look in the window of a shop before continuing onwards to their unknown destinations. Larger groups, mostly civilian with a handful of ninja squads throughout, spread across the streets chattering in loud carousing voices.

In the somber fire of the evening, a shrouded man gracefully maneuvered through all of the groups, his slender figure briefly parting the large crowds and disappearing into obscurity shortly after. A dark hood fell over his face, concealing his identity from the casual observer and dissuading even the most social of people from interaction. The shadow moved with an elegant precision known only highly trained shinobi as he eased his way towards his destination.

Residential areas of Konoha were rarely as crowded as the main street and such was the case as the cloaked man turned off the main path and into a quieter, less populated area. All around apartments stretched upwards towards the darkening sky, their varied heights causing a stair step of shadows to darken the street. With the perpetual slope of the city, it became more difficult for the newcomer to conceal his presence with simple misdirection and the off put of his dress.

After a couple worried looks and suspicious whispers from the denizens of the neighborhood, the man stepped into a nearby alley and wrapped his cloak closer around himself before jumping upwards to the rooftops. Taking a deep breath, the man surveyed the homes around him before locating the one he was searching for. Three rooftops down and a couple rows over, the shadow stopped and hopped onto the balcony below. The apartment was nothing special. Every room had a balcony, a small garden, and a sliding glass door all stacked from the ground floor up.

With a quick flick of hand seals and a pulse of chakra, the shadow unlocked the door before sliding it open and stepping into the welcoming darkness within. Not much had changed since his last visit. With steps trained from memory, he gently padded through the house towards the living room. Everything was exactly as he remembered it, a long overstuffed couch with a too-short coffee table in front of it sat next to an equally overstuffed chair. Other than the few pieces of furniture, the room was sparsely furnished, a small mirror hung on the far wall and a plastic plant sat dejectedly in the corner.

The slender man stretched his back out a moment as he surveyed the room deciding which piece of furniture he would take. The chair had always been his favorite but stretching out on the length of the couch seemed entirely too tempting as he contemplated the tense muscles in his shoulders and his legs sore from travel. With a deep yawn he threw the cloak from his shoulders and watched lazily as it drifted to the floor. With a deep groan he stretched out on the couch, propping his feet on the arm.

Within minutes Sasuke was asleep.

* * *

"_One of our allies is going to turn on us and . . . it's going to be a bloodbath. If we can't stop this hundreds, no . . . thousands will die. Not just Leaf, but everyone caught in between."_

Naruto's ominous words echoed through Kakashi's head as he walked through the crowded streets of Konoha. While he had no proof as the the voracity of the boy's statement, the implications alone sent shivers running up his spine. Konoha had yet to bounce back from the last great war against Madara's machinations and the Hokage seriously doubted any of the other great nations had fully recovered. He knew that any shinobi alliance would be tenuous, but it had only been two years.

The road outside of Kakashi's apartment was usually silent except for the occasional passerby who would wave cheerfully as their Hokage passed. When he had first become Hokage, Kakashi had naturally shied away from all of the foreign attention, preferring to keep himself locked away in his tower or otherwise out of the public eye. After a couple months though the people started to grow on him and he became more public in his appearances, even dropping the Henge transformation he would adopt to travel home.

Something about the people seemed off as the silver-haired man passed. The usual cheerful waves were replaced with hushed whispers and cautious sideways glances. Even the nice baker that always handed him a roll or warm bread slice was no where to be found. Kakashi tensed, knowing something in the neighborhood was out of place. Closing his eyes, he extended his senses as far as he could and tried to detect anything out of the ordinary.

Right away a strange, yet familiar smell reached his nose. It consisted of the forest, dust, and city smells, most likely that of a recently traveling person, even more subtle was the smell of char and static, the smell of a lightning and fire user. The faint smell of death was even more subtle than that.

Kakashi followed the smell to an alley a few blocks away and frowned behind his mask as he realized the person he was pursuing was in fact a ninja. Jumping upwards, he followed the scent over the roof tops of his neighborhood closer and closer to —his home? Without warning the trail dropped down from a rooftop to the balcony outside of Kakashi's apartment. Readying a kunai, the Hokage stepped forward.

The latch of his sliding door had a familiar chakra signature, confirming the silver-haired man's suspicions. With deft hands, he flipped through a series of hand-signs to unlatch his door just as the usurper had earlier. Inside, Kakashi was swallowed by the dark as he crept through his own home. Nothing in the kitchen was out of place, but the strangers smell was growing stronger with each step towards the living room. A long form had found its way onto his couch and was fast asleep, oblivious to the world around him. A careless mistake for any trained shinobi.

With an astonishing speed, the Hokage leaped over the couch and pressed his weapon to the intruder's throat. "Who are you!"

The sleeping man disappeared in a puff of smoke as a voice answered from a dark corner across the room. "You haven't changed a bit Kakashi-Sensei. I would, however, appreciate if you took the kunai away from my neck."

The bushin next to the couch disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Behind Sasuke in the corner of the room Kakashi relaxed his stance and pushed the young man away from him. "Why the hell are you sneaking around Sasuke! I have a front door!" The enraged Hokage threw his kunai across the room with such force it embedded to the hilt in the wall. He stormed in the opposite direction to flip the lights on, bathing the pseudo-battle site in a soft orange glow.

Sasuke rolled his shoulders a bit before gingerly stepping across the room behind his former sensei and plopping into the overstuffed chair behind him, one leg thrown casually over the arm of the chair. "I needed to talk to you before anyone realized I was back in town." The edge in his voice did nothing to put Kakashi at ease as he padded back across the room and flopped onto the couch.

"So you break into my house and wait for me to attack you?" Kakashi asked sarcastically, propping his feet on the coffee table, regarding Sasuke with a glare. "I feel like there are better ways to approach someone you need to talk with."

There was a pregnant silence in the room as Sasuke pulled his thoughts together. With a dark sigh he decided there was no way to beat around the bush. "Something is coming Kakashi." The young man's voice trailed off. "I—"

"You're having dreams of the future." Kakashi interjected, looking into the haunted eyes of his former student.

The Uchiha blinked and looked away, merely grunting in acknowledgment. "At first I thought they were nightmares about the war. Every dream seemed so similar to the ones I had about Itachi after he . . . Anyways, they started getting more and more vivid recently, almost the point I'm actually there." The normally stoic man was shaking, his entire complexion paling as the memories flooded his mind.

Kakashi bit his lip as the boy stopped speaking. He felt the same fear in the pit of his gut even though he hadn't personally witnessed the trauma. Words could only go so far though, and the more he pondered the dilemma the clearer the answer became.

"Sasuke, do you want a drink?" Without waiting for an answer, he stood stiffly and stalked into the kitchen. Opening his cabinet, he pulled a white bottle of aged sake from the top right corner and set it on the cabinet next to him. Next he pulled a worn pan from the wall mount below the cabinet, filled it half full of water and placed it on the stove. Grasping the knob, he turned it to the right, lighting the fire beneath it before placing the bottle into the center of pan to heat. The fire under his water popped, breaking the silence in the kitchen for a brief moment, but Kakashi did not seem to mind.

After a couple minutes had passed, the Hokage pulled an oven mitt from a drawer below the cabinet and and pulled the hot bottle of sake out of the boiling water, setting it on the cabinet while he reached into the cupboard to retrieve a two mugs and two saucers. That done, the placed them down, and then returned to pour a cup of steaming sake into the waiting mugs.

Sasuke had forgone his lounging position to sit stiffly in his chair. When Kakashi entered the room he attempted to avoid eye contact. "I don't need some fucking warm milk like a child Kakashi!"

Chuckling softly, Kakashi handed a steaming cup to the fuming man. "I think you'll find this more to your liking then."

Grimacing at his own stupidity, Sasuke accepted the sake and leaned back into this chair before taking a long sip out of his cup. The steaming liquid did wonders to relax his tensed muscles and slow the racing thoughts in his head, but little to ease the growing pit in his stomach.

"Why did you finally come back?" Kakashi asked quietly.

"I found them." The Uchiha didn't look up as he spoke, opting rather to stare into the depths of his draining cup.

Kakashi looked at him quizzically, his right eyebrow raising in confusion. "Found what?"

Grunting again, Sasuke swallowed the last of his sake, refusing to make eye-contact with the man across the room. Silently he raised his left arm and activated the storage seal inscribed upon it. With a sudden gust of air and smoke, two scrolls appeared in his hand.

"It took a while to find the second one. I knew where to find my brother." Sasuke's voice was almost a whisper as he unfurled the scrolls across the floor. "I almost couldn't recover the sage."

He took both thumbs into his mouth and bit, drawing a hot stream of blood before flashing through a long, complex set of hand-signs. With a final blur he slid the blood covered digits across the center of each scroll and closed his eyes. Smoke clouded the room as time and space opened with a small pop. A few moments passed in silence as the smoke cleared, revealing two forms laying on the scrolls. The body of Itachi Uchiha and the Mountain Sage Jiraiya.

* * *

After his meeting with Kakashi earlier that morning, Naruto had meandered through town trying to figure out how to spend the rest of the day. Food was normally his first response, but for some reason the idea of anything on his stomach seemed repulsive. He leaned quietly against a tree as he pondered who was still in town and away on missions. The war had taken quite a toll on people, and most of the Konoha ninja seemed relieved when mission orders reached their hands, as if it were an escape from their own personal horrors. People closer to the blonde changed as well, some for the better, some not so much.

Tsunade disappeared quite suddenly after the end of the war, staying just long enough to make Kakashi Hokage before leaving without a single word. While most of the village gossiped about the various reasons for her departure, a few hushed conversations with Kakashi and Sakura determined she most likely left due to the sheer stress the war had put on her body. Having used her Mitotic Regeneration technique in the battle with Madera, the three even feared she might be nearing the end of her lifespan.

Upon the Fifth's disappearance, the hospital immediately instated Sakura as head of the medic corps, a daunting task which ate all of hre time from dawn to midnight. Naruto shuddered thinking of the sheer amount of work Sakura had taken upon herself, but realized this too was a coping mechanism for the war. With both her menor and her long time love, Sasuke, gone, only her duty seemed to tie her to the village. Naruto smiled halfheartedly as he thought about Sakura still chasing Sasuke. Part of him ached for the voracity of her words on the snow covered mountains of the Iron Country, but he knew she would forever be just out of reach. He grimaced, thinking how Hinata must feel the same, chasing after him while he chased Sakura.

Neji's death had taken a great toll on the young woman. While Hinata had never really spoken much as a teenager, she spoke even less as an adult—only providing deep insight when needed. As a child her silence stemmed from crippling shyness, but now her silence stemmed from pensive thought and reflection. She had grown beautiful beyond words and Naruto understood this and the strength behind her confession of love. He couldn't commit to her though.

_:Boy. Stop wallowing in the past and do something.: _The gruff voice of Kurama resounded in his head. _:We need to train if you want to have a chance of protecting either of them from what's coming.:_

Naruto sighed deeply before pushing himself away from the tree. The sun was setting over the western edge of the city and bugs were starting to fill the night with their vibrant chatter. As the blonde wandered down the path towards the training grounds he closed his eyes and let the serenity wash over him.

"You know Kurama, I feel like Shikamaru is right about something."

The fox sounded slightly amused as he answered, raising a mental eyebrow_:Hm? What's that.: _

"Women are troublesome."

Kurama chuckled darkly. _:I wouldn't know. There doesn't seem to be an abundance of nine-tailed demon vixens running around.:_

"Demon vi— demon what?" Naruto replied, scratching his head in sincere confusion.

_:Women. Fox women you imbecile!:_

"Whatever. You'd probably scare them away anyhow."

Rounding the path, the duo found themselves outside of the training grounds, each gate marked with huge numbers. Some of the towering fences surrounded limitless expanses of trees while others were just small dirt plots with some practice dummies sitting silently in the center, their long shadows stretching out before them. Naruto wanted a smaller training ground, preferably with a tree or something to lean against, his training wasn't exactly exciting after all.

Roaming around the fenced areas, he finally found a nice small area with a single tree sitting in the corner and bee lined for it. Within moments, he was sitting with his back propped against the rough surface of the oak. Crossing his legs he breathed in deeply and forced all thoughts out of his head, much like he had when training in Mount Myōboku.

"Okay Fox, let's try this."

Closing his eyes, the blonde concentrated on bringing all of his chakra's into balance, mentally molding them into a rotating ball. He imagined making rasengan inside of himself without putting in all the power he would during an attack, rather, he focused on the spin and composition of the the chakra. In his inner mind, he could see a lumpy ball forming and spinning haphazardly. He breathed in deeply before compressing everything into a sphere. The ball stabilized and the lumps disappeared, leaving a single glowing orb spinning in the darkness.

When the ball of chakra stabilized, Naruto felt the Kurama's red chakra flowing into the ball as well. For a second the bumpiness returned as the blue and red fought against each other, refusing to mix. Together, red and blue chakra spiraled around, pushing out of the sphere at strange intervals without completely stabilizing together. Just as Naruto had compressed his chakra, Kurama did the same and suddenly a small _pop _echoed in the blackness of their minds. The orb started spinning faster and faster until neither the red nor blue chakra were visible and only a seamless purple orb spun in place.

_:Now!: _Naruto heard Kurama shout in the back of his mind.

Without hesitating, the blonde forced his consciousness back, shuddering slightly as he felt the massive presence of Kurama's surge forward.

For a second Naruto couldn't breathe. He couldn't feel his body. He didn't exist. He went from sitting back against a tree to floating in dark nothingness. He panicked. Struggling, he fought to regain something, anything besides the blackness around him. The orb shuddered and the purple briefly flickered from red to blue and back.

_:Boy! You're losing it again!: _Kurama's voice echoed darkly in the depths of Naruto's mind. _:Relax and just let the transition happen.:_

The panic subsided and suddenly the blonde found himself looking though the eyes of another. His senses were dulled and everything happening around him seemed to filter through eternity before he could actually feel it. With the link to Kurama, he understood things before he sensed them, the thought came before the sensation. It was a disorienting feeling, like his body and senses were five seconds behind his mind.

According to Bee, this was the first step to achieving a full transition. With practice, Naruto and Kurama's mind would balance and the lapse between time and sensation would lessen until it no longer existed. Ruefully however, Gyuki admitted they had yet to reach a flawless transition, and while theirs was almost perfect—with a barely noticeable lapse— the transition had never perfectly melded their minds.

Like wave distortions, reality and sensation connected briefly before falling into oblivion; when waves of reality intersected, the meld was right but when they diverged once again the meld broke. Over and over this cycle repeated, with neither mind completely merging like the chakras in hand had. With a final tumultuous lurch the connection broke, forcibly sending Naruto to the forefront, dislodging Kurama with a violent shudder.

* * *

Kakashi stared silently as the bodies before him disappeared into a large puff of smoke. Of all the things Sasuke could have done, recovering the bodies of Konoha's fallen heroes was the last thing the Kage would have imagined. Saying nothing, Kakashi leaned back into his seat and studied the man across from him. The emotional burden the raven-haired man carried was clearly visible as he looked across the preserved figure of his brother. The two could almost be twins, Kakashi found himself thinking, taking only slight exception for the dark tear troughs still prominently etched into the deceased face of Itachi. Breathing deeply, he glanced at the body of Jiraiya. While the two of them had never been incredibly close, part of him still ached for the great sacrifice the man made against Pein. Shaking his head, he returned his focus to Sasuke.

Silence filled the room as the raven-haired man rolled the scrolls and whipped his hands into a sealing jutsu causing black bands to wrap around the vessels and lock the contents inside. With a heavy sigh the Uchiha closed his eyes and turned around, his back facing Kakashi. The last of his spirit seemed to leave him as he uttered a single sentence the slipped into the air like death itself.

"I killed Itachi."

The words hung in the air desolately like a thick shrouding fog. A sickening silence followed as Sasuke returned to his chair, leaving the two scrolls laying abandoned on the floor.

"I want them to each receive a proper burial." Sasuke said suddenly, his deep voice breaking into the desolation hanging in the air. "But—" he added darkly, "I don't want anyone knowing I brought them back."

"Sasu—" Kakashi started, before the Uchiha's dark glare cut him off from across the room.

"No one." Breathing deeply, Sasuke looked away, instead choosing to watch the last rays of the sun dip beyond the horizon. "People should judge me for my actions as a whole, not some deed they think as penitence."

Kakashi nodded once. He knew Sasuke wanted to return to the village and he understood the need for earned acceptance rather than obsequious hero worship. The fawning attention Naruto had garnered after the last war was something that Sasuke had never wanted.

"Was this all you wanted to talk to me about?" Kakashi asked, feeling deep down that there was something more to this meeting.

Sasuke shifted uneasily in his chair as if something had suddenly discomforted him. His already pale feature bleached as he looked off into the distance. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"You've been dreaming something you think is going to happen in the future." Kakashi prompted, suddenly realizing Sasuke had also received chakra from the Sage of Six Paths. Even as he spoke, a plan was forming in his mind. He had only heard a second hand account of these dreams, but if he could actually see them in action . . .

Across the room Sasuke clenched his teeth. A surge of chakra pushed through the room and started swirling around the raven-haired man. Everything about the chakra seemed wrong, uncontrolled, wild. It was the same chaotic burst that had tormented Naruto in his apartment only this time it swirled in an evil black and red whirlwind.

"Kakashi!" Sasuke yelled out over the maelstrom, his deep voice barely crossing the room over the sudden cacophony.

Without thinking, Kakashi looked up and into the swirling ring of Sasuke's sharingan. The world jolted out of reality and burst into a tessellation of oranges, reds, and yellows. In the center Sasuke stood wordlessly, his head tilted back, face contorted into a silent scream. With great effort Kakashi pushed against the howling winds of Sasuke's Tsukuyomi into the hell fire epicenter. Grabbing hold of the boy's shoulders, the Kage wrenched him forward.

"I want you to show me Sasuke." The Hokage yelled his voice strong despite the doubts he harbored against Sasuke's sharingan. "Show me what you've been dreaming!"

Everything stopped, frozen in time as Sasuke looked into Kakashi's eyes, into his mind, down the the depths of his soul before wrenching it into his own dark world.

_The cold, piercing wind howled across the river causing huge waves to crash against the shore over and over again. On the northern banks, Konaha forces stood with their weapons drawn, their Hokage standing proudly before them. The southern shore harbored an unknown force, their blank eyes staring blindly towards the ranks of Konoha, their Kage staring forward resolutely. In the center of the river stood four forms._

_Saskuke looked at the shadowy figures to his left and right, knowing deep down they would defend his back until the end against the monstrosity before them. The jinchuriki howled as the monster inside ripped forth, tearing him apart from the inside out, bits of flesh and gore raining upon both standing armies. Kakashi gave the command to charge despite the warnings Sasuke's squad was screaming._

_All around people were dying. Two Kage were embroiled in a jutsu match beyond comprehension, their powerful chakra expulsions causing huge quakes in the ground below. More people fell. The waters were flowing red with the carnage of the battle._

_Silence. Both sides retreated from the battle field knowing something was coming. Something terrible. As nothing happened tensions eased and uneasy mummers rippled through the ranks. Even the Kage, so embroiled in their match stopped. In the center of the battle field a single figure slumped forward and fell to the ground._

_The sky split as a single scream ripped through the ears of everyone around. Suddenly there was nothing._

_Everything was dark and the Uchiha found himself walking in a water-filled facility. The dim lights cast dark shadows on the walls the sickly sweet stench of death brought tears to his eyes. A hollow roar echoed down the hall, all the anguish of loss laced into a war cry. Sensing something terrible was about to happen, Sasuke ran toward the sound until he stood before a set of golden gates._

_Inside, Kurama held the mangled body of Naruto. The foxes eyes were wide with anger and clouded with rage. Another horrible cry ripped forth from his enormous chest as he placed the boy onto the ground before him. The water started boiling rapidly all around with huge curls of steam wafting from the surface and disappearing into nothing. Flames burst all around, as the facility shook violently. Chakra streamed unchecked from the fox in great billowing swirls of red and orange._

_Kurama roared once more, a promise of destruction as he crashed through the gates._

* * *

**Hey guys! Sorry about the wait. I was trying to finish of my semester and then I had to go to South Korea. I'm going to try to post more often as to keep all of you appeased. Additonally, I have one finally story to announce. It is a Yu Yu Hakusho fan fiction of the same calibur as the rest of my works. Keep an eye out!**

—**Wolfe**


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